SHILLONG: The Khasi Jaintia Fish Wholesalers and Retailers Association on Friday said it has no interest in fish from within the state or those coming from the ponds of Meghalaya.
In response to a news report in this daily, the Association said, “We would also like to clarify that as for fish from within the state or fish that comes from the ponds of Meghalaya we have no interest and inclination nor have we prohibited anyone from selling them in the market.”
The association also referred to the government notification of July 23, which prohibited “storage, distribution or sale of fresh fish or crustaceans brought from outside the state for 15 days”.
The association said it had a meeting on July 24 to discuss and deliberate on the presence of formalin in fish sold by them and the impact of the ban.
“It was clearly identified and agreed upon by one and all that we must cooperate with the decision taken by the government, though we hope that the state government would help us out by trying to solve the matter as hundreds and thousands of our own Khasi Jaintia brethren are dependent on this trade,” the association said.
According to the association, keeping the government order in mind and reading the government notification with all sincerity they have come to the understanding that the prohibition is for fish from outside the state.
“This means that fish from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and even Assam fall within the above mentioned areas. Hence we are simply following the government order and have stopped the import of fish from even our neighbouring state Assam. Are we wrong in this,” the association said.
